Under the Star Lit Sky
by Fly Away Dreams
Summary: The 4th of July is coming up and, as usual, Magnus is having a party. He invites Alec and all of his family. So why is he so nervous about it. It's just a party, right? Malec! Co-written with MaybeThere'sHope. Yes, I know its late. Better late than never.


**A/N (MaybeThere'sHope): Hi all! I just want to say that this has been really fun to do. This was the first time I ever collaborated with someone and I couldn't have asked for a better author to do it with! This was her idea, all the way, I just filled in the gaps with my own flair. Hope you like it! I think it's adorable. Much love.**

**_Hey, FlyAwayDreams here. Yeah, I know, it's a little late for a 4th of July fic, but once you read it, you'll see why. And we all have lives away from FF. But thats beside the point. This is an idea I came up with while watching fireworks at my uncles house. It was the best fireworks display I've ever seen. Ever. They had so many fireworks, that, the fact that they were a tad drunk and lighting them off before the sun had even gone down didn't make a dent in the over all show. It was just so beautiful and then this came to mind. I slept on it and decided that I had to get it written. I decided to ask MaybeThere'sHope. She'd just started posting stuff and it was amazing. And, well, here we are now. This is by far the longest piece I've written, fanfiction wise._**

**Disclaimer: We don't own Mortal Instruments. We were just borrowing the characters. They belong to Cassandra Clare.**

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Alec sat curled up on the couch, hiding away from the blistering heat wave outside, glad for the magic-enhanced AC in his and Magnus' apartment. He looked down at the book he was reading. It was something Magnus had read and told Alec to read. It wasn't really the kind of book he was into, but he was reading it anyway. Honestly though, he felt the girls in the book were rather stupid, doing all those things and keeping all those secrets.

Alec was knocked out of his thoughts by an explosion, coming from down the hall in Magnus's 'office'. It was just where he kept his potent magic items and books and worked on his potions and more complex spells. He leapt up and ran down the hall, not caring where the book landed, wanting to make sure his Magnus was ok. It felt good to say that without any guilt or regret. It had been like that after he had come out to his family, and everyone else, in the Hall that day. Alec had been worried that his parents would be displeased with him, but he quickly learned that wasn't the case. They were accepting of him and who he was and wrapped him up in their warm embrace, as they had done before when he was a small child.

When he got there he saw Magnus stumbling out into the hallway, coughing, smoke trailing out of the darkened room behind him. "Magnus, are you ok?" Alec asked, rushing over to him and helping him out of the doorway.

"I'm fine Alec, darling. No need to worry, it just backfired a bit, nothing serious." Magnus said, tapping Alec on the nose lightly.

"What are you working on?" Alec asked, looking up at him curiously.

"That, darling, is a surprise. You'll have to wait till my Fourth of July party, just like everyone else." Magnus said.

Alec looked down and bit his lip. "About that…" Alec said, trailing off.

"Yes?" Magnus asked, looking down at Alec.

Alec took a deep breath before looking up at Magnus, not wanting to see the possible look of sadness that would cross his face when he told him. "I'm not sure if I can come. My family usually has a barbeque and it wouldn't be fair if I'm the only one not there."

Magnus chuckled a bit, patting Alec on that back. "That's easy, we just invite them too."

"I'm not really sure how much my parents are going to like it, but I guess it's worth a shot," Alec said.

"It's settled then!" Magnus declared.

* * *

Magnus and Alec entered the Institute, heading up in the elevator, not saying much, just holding hands. When the elevator stopped they got out, heading into the kitchen where everyone was gathered.

"Oh, Alec, Magnus. Good to see you, what brings you here?" Isabelle asked. Alec pointed to Magnus.

"He has something to say."

Magnus cleared his throat, taking a step forward, ensuring he had everyone's attention. "As you all know, the fourth of July is approaching. And people have parties then. And we all know that I like parties. Thus, I am, once again, throwing a fourth of July party. I came here to invite you all." Magnus said, looking at everyone in the room, Jace, Clary, Isabelle, Robert and Maryse.

"I don't know. We usually have a family thing here." Maryse said.

"I'm aware, Alec informed me. It would mean a lot to me if you were all there though. And Clary, you can tell your mother and Luke that they're invited, Simon as well." Magnus said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a sheet of paper that served as an invitation. "I know what time it says there, but feel free to come over a half an hour before hand," he said before grabbing Alec's hand and heading back the way they had come. Alec looked back at his family and gave them an apologetic look before turning back to his boyfriend.

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Isabelle was so excited. She always liked being in on big surprises, and this particular surprise had the potential to be epically huge. She was so happy for her brother she could hardly contain herself. It didn't help that Alec had happened to be making one of his occasional visits home when Magnus called her to let her in on his plan. She had squealed out loud and had to run out of the room while Alec had looked on with a look on his face that said she might be a little crazy. Jace had been lounging on the couch and said something sarcastic and witty, but Isabelle was too high on cloud nine to know what it was.

"You absolutely, _on pain of death,_ cannot say a WORD to Alec about this. I'm counting on you to be able to restrain yourself. If not, it'll all be completely ruined," Magnus had warned her over the phone.

"I promise. Not a peep. This is too good to mess up," Isabelle said, already nearly jumping up and down with excitement. The purpose of his call was to ask her to go ring shopping with him. It's not like he needed her for a female opinion, just an opinion on what Alec might like.

She was now waiting in front of the Harry Winston's 5th Avenue flagship store. She had been there about ten minutes when Magnus came strolling around the corner, looking particularly dashing in his dark red leather pants, crystal-encrusted belt, dark purple dress shirt open at the neck (framing various necklaces), and long silver trench-style coat decorated with patterns of glittering black wavy lines running the length of his long, lean body. His hair was down and parted far to the side, shining in the midmorning sun. His eyes were rimmed in dark purple kohl liner, and a light dusting of shimmer caught the light on the apples of his cheeks. He probably could have done without that detail; he positively glowed on his own. She could tell he was walking on air right now.

When he came up next to her, she couldn't help point out, "You look positively radiant, and I don't mean the makeup."

"Well thank you, my dear. I feel like I'm dreaming right now. I can't believe I'm going to do this, but then again, how could I not?" He couldn't seem to wipe the smile of his face. Isabelle didn't mind in the least.

"Well, let's get going!" she said and held the door open for him and they slipped inside. Magnus' eyes lit up at the sight of all the diamonds. Isabelle had wondered at his choice of store, but then she had secretly become thankful that he liked to overcharge his other clients. Her brother was going to wear the benefit on his finger for eternity. She couldn't help smiling either.

"Is there anything I can help you two with?" A short, thin blonde man said to them as they took their first few steps into the showroom.

"Well, sir, my barely contained, glittery friend here is going to ask my brother to marry him, and we are here to buy the perfect ring for him." At first, she was afraid he would turn away; it took him a minute to respond. But, to her pleasant surprise, he smiled widely and turned to Magnus.

"Congratulations! That's a big step, and you came to the right place to find the perfect piece of jewelry that will make it extra special. Do you have any idea what kind of style he might like?"

Magnus finally found his voice. "Thank you! And, well, that's sort of why I brought her along." He motioned to Isabelle. "Alec doesn't really wear much in the way of jewelry, and although I'm pretty darn sure he loves me dearly, he's not on the same wavelength with me, style-wise." He motioned to his wardrobe and wiggled his fingers, full of rings of his own.

"I see. So he's a little more subtle in his style, is he?" the man said.

"Ha! A little? He's downright drab," Magnus said, but with a big smile. Isabelle knew this was one of the parts of Alec he secretly liked. They were perfect compliments to each other.

"Alright, well over here, we have some titanium rings he might like. They aren't as flashy as some of the rest of our stock, and they are custom made especially for you. May I ask how much you were planning to spend?" At this, Magnus snorted and waved his hand as if to say, _money is NO object here, mister._ This seemed to make the man infinitely more happy. Isabelle could only imagine what his commission check for THIS particular sale was going to look like. She was a little jealous. She could use a new pair of Jimmy Choo boots.

As Magnus and Isabelle perused the case of manly looking titanium rings, the man pulling out several various styles so that they could look at them more closely, none of them seemed up to par. There were plain gray ones, ones that were darker, almost black. There were a few with two or three small round diamonds set into them. But none that just screamed, _ALEC_. They then moved on to the platinum case. These were a little better, with more styles sporting diamonds and two tone gold and platinum. However, none of these particularly called to them either. They began to get discouraged. As Magnus sat in a chair looking closely at three or four rings that were laid out in front of him, trying to decide if he actually liked any of them, Isabelle wandered around on her own.

She came across a very sparkly case. All the diamonds caught her eye and she couldn't help but stare at the gorgeous jewelry in front of her. There was probably several million dollars under her eyes right now. She shuddered to think about it.

Suddenly, a piece caught her eye. It was gorgeous. It was three open rows of channel set princess cut diamonds, connected in various places by beautiful baguettes. It looked like a tiny labyrinth that you could get lost in, a maze of diamonds. It was stunning. It also did what they had been waiting for: it distinctly said, _Alec_.

"Magnus! Magnus come here!" She called to him from across the store, not caring about the high brow stares and turned up noses she got. Magnus stood up and came over to where she was standing. "That one," she pointed to the ring in the case. She could almost see Magnus' eyes pop out of his head. She smiled, and he was nearly jumping up and down. He called the blond man over.

"We want to see this one, please!" He could barely contain his excitement. The man came over and unlocked the case, pulling the ring gingerly out and setting it on top of the glass. Upon closer inspection, it was even more beautiful than behind the glass. This was the one. They both knew it. However, Magnus looked at Isabelle with a little apprehension.

"Are you sure this would be ok for him? I mean, I _love_ it, but you don't think it's too flashy for him? Not that I don't want to inject a little sparkle in his life, but I also don't want him to feel like he has a huge 'I'M GAY' sign blinking from his left hand. I know he loves me, and he's a lot more comfortable being out than he used to be, but he's still not nearly as flamboyant as I am."

"Absolutely, he will love it. It's so him. Intricate, unexpected, out of the ordinary," she rattled off characteristics she loved about her brother.

"You forgot the most important part. It's absolutely beautiful." Magnus nearly had tears in his eyes. "How much?" he asked the blond man.

"Twelve thousand, six hundred dollars."

"We'll take it!" Magnus exclaimed. Isabelle gave the man Alec's ring size, which she had sneakily found out by conning Alec into putting on one of Magnus' rings that he had let her borrow. It just barely didn't fit, so she told the man one step up from Magnus' ring size. The man said that the ring would be sized accordingly and it would be ready in a week. Magnus whipped out his credit card and handed it to the man.

When they were back outside, Magnus finally let his excitement out to its full potential. He grabbed Isabelle and they both jumped up and down screaming in delight. He kissed her on both cheeks and told her thank you for coming. They went their separate ways, both thinking about the big surprise to come.

Finally, the day of the party arrived. Magnus was nervous, for good reason. He was asking the love of his very long life to marry him.

He darted around their apartment, getting this and that for different places, putting it all in a pile near the door. Sure, he could just poof it to the roof, but bringing it all up there would give him something to do that would distract him. And it would allow him to make sure that everything was perfect.

* * *

He sighed in annoyance, not seeing the Tiki Torches in the closet he was looking in. "Alec, darling," He called out. Alec poked his head out of the living room. "Could you check the other party supply closet for the Tiki Torches and put them in the pile by the door? Oh, and bring me the box of string lights too. I bet there's something in there I could use too." He said, diving back into this closet to find more supplies.

Alec appeared behind Magnus a few moments later, holding the box of lights Magnus wanted. "Here you go," Alec said, putting the box on the ground and crouching down next to Magnus. Wrapping his arms around him, Alec spoke. "This party doesn't have to be perfect, you know. Everyone makes mistakes. I won't stop loving you just because one of your parties wasn't perfect. I love you for you, not your parties." Alec said.

"I know. But, this one needs to be perfect. It's the first time your parents have ever even been to my apartment, much less one of my parties." Magnus said, looking down at the box Alec had brought from the other closet.

Alec laughed a little, but tried to hold it back. "Magnus, don't worry about my parents. They're mine, I'll worry about it myself, alright? So go and get ready." Alec said, kissing him gently and pushing him in the direction of the bedroom.

Magnus closed the door behind him and sighed. If only Alec knew why he was really stressing over this party. Magnus hated lying to Alec, but it's what had to be done in this case. The reason why he was nervous would become clear to Alec later.

Magnus went into his closet, trying on who knows how many outfits before deciding on one. He twirled around in front of the mirror one last time, making sure he was happy with what he chose, before getting to work on his hair and make up, so later, when he was done setting up and it was closer to the party, all he'd have to do was touch it up. On his way to the living room to ask Alec for his help, he passed his office. He ducked inside, grabbing the box that held the ring in it from the hiding place he'd been keeping it and tucked it safely into his pocket.

When Magnus walked into the living room, Alec could tell he was still worried, but decided to keep quiet about it, knowing how he could get when he felt stressed.

"Darling, would you help me set up on the roof?" Magnus asked.

"Of course, just tell me what to do," Alec said, getting up and following the warlock to the roof, each with an armful of supplies. They set up with a comfortable silence between them, talking only when necessary. They set up the table where the refreshments would go, the sound system, and canopy for shade for those who desired it, set Tiki Torches up around the perimeter, and strung up lights, among other things. Magnus had also put up a spell to ward off mosquitoes.

By the time they were almost finished the place was totally transformed. "Go on back to the apartment. Your family should be here soon, since we invited them to come a little earlier," Magnus said, Alec nodded hugging him quickly before darting back inside, headed toward their apartment.

Magnus collapsed into one of the chairs they had set out, fingering the black box in his pocket and turning it over nervously, as he had been doing all morning when Alec hadn't been looking. He ran his free hand through his hair. What was he so nervous about? He knew Alec was going to say yes… wasn't he? Magnus shook his head hurriedly, trying to shake the thought. That sort of thinking wouldn't get him anywhere.

* * *

Alec couldn't explain why he was nervous. He just was. He had been pretty much living with Magnus for a while now, but his parents had still never been here. He considered this his home now, and his touches were here and there. Like the fact that it was somewhat clean every now and then, for instance. The apartment itself had become a metaphor for their relationship. A little bit of an eclectic mashup of styles that didn't make sense, but seemed to come together fluidly.

Alec stood in the living room and stared around. His bow and quiver was in the corner by the door, so he could grab it fast if he was called to duty. Magnus' loud silver platform boots rested right next to it, for the same reason. He chuckled to himself at how different their work was, yet how much similarity he could find in it.

He had tried to pick up the clutter a little (which usually consisted of picking up Magnus' clothes from all over the couch, the floor, the doorknobs, etc.) in preparation for their guests to arrive. He was apprehensive about his parents coming; he felt like showing them around would be like letting them take a peek into his and Magnus' relationship. He was a lot more comfortable with being out than he used to be, but gay, straight, or whatever, it was awkward to let your parents into your love life. And that's what he felt like he was doing.

The doorbell rang. He was out of time to ponder.

He pressed the button on the intercom. "Come on up!" He called, and unlocked the door for them. Jace came barreling through, only pausing a moment to ask where the free food was, pulling Clary along behind him. She let go of him long enough to stop and give Alec a reassuring hug and smile. Isabelle came through next, with her fingers laced through Simon's. Alec arched his eyebrow at her, but she simply patted him on the shoulder and passed by with a weird look on her face. Like she had good news, but didn't want to share it just yet. Alec hoped she and Simon weren't up to something; it was way too soon for that. He didn't have time to dwell on that, though, because the moment of truth had come. His parents came up the steps and through the door to stand awkwardly in the entrance to the living room.

"So, this is what you left the cozy comfort of the Institute for?" his mother asked, with a smile on her face.

"Uh, yea, I guess," he said. Brilliant and confident, that was Alec through and through.

"Well aren't you going to show us around?" Maryse was trying to break through her son's nervousness.

"Sure. Um, this is the living room." He waved his hand to indicate the brightly decorated room. There was the lightly worn wood floor, covered by a large, faded oriental rug that was probably purchased in some bygone century. Atop the rug stood a big, plush couch upholstered in red suede with several leopard-print throw pillows haphazardly strewn across it. The couch was relatively new; Magnus had insisted Alec have a say in how their home was decorated. Alec had shocked his boyfriend by picking the loudly colored couch. The pillows, however, were all Magnus.

The coffee table was sleek glass, with red lacquered legs. After inviting his parents, Alec had promptly removed the copy of the _Kama Sutra_ Magnus liked to keep on the table to embarrass shy clients, and as a conversation piece for the ones more on his level. Alec blushed at the thought of his parents seeing _that_one. He had hidden it safely under the bed.

"Through here is the kitchen," he said walking through the length of the living room to an archway opposite the front door. Alec had had nothing to do with the decoration in here. It was a jumbled puzzle of colors that glittered and shone in various places. It resembled Magnus a lot, and coincidentally, this was the only room in the apartment (probably on the planet) where your eye could lose Magnus when he was standing in it. There was a small breakfast table in the far right corner, adorned with a huge vase full of yellow roses, Magnus' favorite flower.

"Ok, um, down this hallway is the bathroom," Alec narrated, showing them the (finally sparkling clean) bathroom with the bright purple rug in front of Magnus' vanity, and the black towels and washcloths in a little basket on the counter (shadowhunter black, courtesy of Alec).

"And this is Magnus' office." His parents stepped into a room that closely resembled a well thought-out cave, almost completely out of place in the lofty Brooklyn apartment. The walls were weathered stone, as was the floor. However, there was a distinct feeling of calculated decoration, as if the warlock had tried his best to design a "cavern" just for his needs. And he had done exactly that.

The stone had been magically transported there from who knows where, but somehow it fit the purpose, making the room look all the more mysterious and other-worldly. This is where Magnus did all of his more complex and secretive spells. Alec occasionally heard ominous sounds coming out of this room, but hardly ever dared to peek in. Magnus always assured him everything was all right, even though he sometimes emerged looking like a bomb had gone off. Alec did find it a little adorable sometimes, though.

Three walls were covered in floor to ceiling shelves which held all manner of magical tools and objects: books, rabbits' feet, plants of every kind, numerous colored glass bottles and jars full of potions for this and that, a Bunsen burner, various jewels and glittering stones, some unknown things Alec didn't like to gaze at for too long. Next to the uncovered stone wall on the opposite side sat an enormous desk that looked like it had seen its better days during the Spanish Inquisition. It was covered in papers and scrolls written in various languages from around the world, human and otherwise.

The only thing that actually had a designated place of honor in the room was a framed picture of Alec and Magnus, taken when they had returned from Idris. Alec smiled at seeing it sitting atop the desk where Magnus could gaze at it whenever he got discouraged with whatever he was working on.

After closing the door, Alec stopped short.

"What is it, Alec? There's one more door down here," his mother said. Alec gulped. This was weird. He really didn't want to show his _parents_ the room where he shared a bed with his warlock boyfriend. He didn't want them picturing all the things they might do (and, let's face it, the things they do get around to doing most of the time) in that bed.

"Ah…uh…that's the…uh…the bedroom," he stuttered.

"Well aren't you going to show us?" his mother asked, not understanding why he was so apprehensive.

"Ummm…sure." He took a deep breath, put his hand on the knob, and turned. He pushed the door open and stepped aside for them to enter. He held his breath at first, but at their faces (which looked plainly interested, not wierded out), he began to relax a little. His eyes flickered to his hiding place under the bed once, just to make sure the book was well hidden.

The familiar canary yellow comforter always caught the eye first. It adorned the bed well, along with the piles and piles of rainbow colored pillows. Across the bottom half of the bed rested Alec's thin blanket from his bedroom at the Institute. He had asked Magnus if he could bring it, since it reminded him of "home" and would help him transition a little better. The walls were a bright turquoise color with a light sheen of gold sponged over it. Alec recalled the day they had painted the room together, throwing paint soaked sponges at each other like children, laughing and tumbling over on the floor with one another. They had ended up doing some very _adult_ things after that. Alec blushed at the memory and prayed his parents didn't notice.

His mother was looking at the drapes. They were a heavy damask with gold embroidery (real gold, Magnus had insisted). "These are really nice," his mother commented, feeling the material in her hands.

"Yea, Magnus has good taste, I gotta admit," Alec said shyly. Well, it was true. His boyfriend had infinitely more refined taste than he did.

Glad that he had made it through potentially the most mortifying moment of his life, they went back out to the kitchen, which had been full of trays of food but was now completely empty.

"I guess everyone's already on the roof," Alec remarked. He showed his parents to the stairs and they climbed to the roof where the party was getting into full swing. He barely made it through the roof access door before he was swept up in a warm hug by his boyfriend.

"Come! Eat! There's enough for everyone! Even you, Simon." Magnus snapped his fingers and stainless steel flask appeared in Simon's hand. He looked at it a little worriedly, but took a sip and smiled.

As everyone else dug in, Alec smiled to himself, standing wrapped in the warlock's arms. "You really outdid yourself this time. I'm so happy this all came together so well. I don't think it can ever get any better."

"Well, I live to make you happy, Alexander. I mean that. And I'm pretty sure this night has the potential to get even better." At Alec's puzzled expression, Magnus continued, "I promise, you will never _ever_ forget this night. Neither will I." He gave a glittery wink and kissed Alec's forehead.

* * *

Magnus had lit the Tiki Torches on the perimeter of the roof as soon as the sun had started to edge towards the edge of the sky and now that it completely set, the glow of the stars and the torches illuminating Alec and Magnus, who stood a little off from he refreshments table.

"I think it's time for the fireworks now, what do you think, darling?" Magnus asked. Alec shrugged.

"It's your party and they're your fireworks."

"Alright, it's settled then." Magnus said, clapping twice and getting everyone's attention, cutting off the music. "If I could have your attention please!" Magnus said. "I'm going to begin the fireworks display, if you could all move towards that side of the roof for better viewing," Magnus said, pointing to a spot on the roof.

Magnus and Alec made their way over there, standing by the edge, somewhat away from the rest of the group. Magnus wrapped his arms around Alec's waist and Alec leaned back into him, looking up at him and smiling. Magnus grinned down at him, and, with a flick of his wrist, started the fireworks display.

They were unlike anything Alec had seen before, but that was to be expected, being enhanced by the magic of a warlock. Everyone watched in awe, illuminated by the glow, as round after round of fireworks went off. Alec looked up at Magnus, a look of love and adoration on his face. "They're lovely." he said, gently kissing Magnus's neck.

"You haven't even seen the best part." Magnus said.

Once the glow from the most recent round died down, Magnus stepped back from Alec for a moment. "And now, for the grand finale," he said, winking at Isabelle, who grinned and gave him a thumbs up. Magnus moved to stand next to Alec again, grabbing hold of his hand. With a flick of his wrist, the start of the grand finale went up into the air. Magnus took a deep breath and got down on one knee as it exploded into the air.

Alec watched in awe as the grand finale shot into the air, bursting into a bunch of bright colors. He gasped when he saw what was written in them. 'Alec, will you marry me?'

Alec turned to Magnus next to him, to ask him if it was a joke and he saw him on the ground on one knee, holding his hand. Unknown to Alec, the crowd of partygoers had turned to watch them.

Magnus breathed in deeply once, then started. "Alexander Lightwood, never in my eight hundred years have I felt for anyone the way I do for you. Will you marry me?" He asked, drawing a little black box out of his pocket and opening it, looking up at Alec hopefully.

Alec stared down at him in awe. He could feel tears building in his eyes and he stood there dumbfounded for a moment as they slipped down his cheeks.

"Alec?" Magnus asked, worried since he hadn't said anything and was just standing their crying.

Magnus words broke through to Alec, who let out a small chuckle as he wrapped his arms around Magnus, peppering his face with kisses. "Yes, yes, yes! A thousand times, yes!" Alec said, pressing his lips to Magnus, as he slipped the ring onto Alec's finger. "Silly warlock. You looked worried I was going to say no." He said, before he pressed another gentle kiss to Magnus lips. As they stood there kissing, one final firework flew into the air and burst. They stood there in the glow of the pinks hearts in the sky above, tears of joy flowing down Alec's face.

* * *

**A/N (MaybeThere'sHope): Well I hope you all enjoyed that! It was incredibly fun. Reviews are LOVE.**

**_Hope you enjoyed it. And, as was stated before, review. I really like reviews. They'll help me get more stuff out on Fanfiction. And we all know you want that. I have some drabble type things that I wrote based off of random words that I've been thinking about posting. I only had a Spanish to English Dictionary or a Thesuras available, so I used a Thesuras, so they have weird prompts. And, for those of you who are reading my other fics, I'm working on updates. It more of a matter of me being lazy than anything._**


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